Untold Facts

Task Force for Containing Terrorists in South Asia or another Rakkhi Bahini?

The Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her intension with a print media for initiating a Task Force to contain ‘terrorism’ and combat terrorist in South Asia. She has been saying so for some time that tells us that she is serious about it.
Terrorism is undoubtedly a menace for democracy and freedom. There can be no difference of opinion about the intention. But one has to, first of all, be very careful and alert in labeling terrorism and the terrorists.
Terror means any action of extreme fear, and terrorist means one who creates extreme fear to get something done in his favor against lawful individuals or parties. Terrorism is the method, mode or technique for creating fear or for terrorizing the targeted victim.
Human society is not immune from fear of one kind or the other. However, for enduring peace in any society, in democratic society in particular, strict enforcement of rule of law can ensure peace and automatic containment of anything of fear so far as human relations and interactions are concerned. There are criminal codes for due process of law in such matters. If the codes are honestly followed with neutrality, they could well contain terrorism and combat terrorists quite satisfactorily. In case rule of law breaks down for one reason or another, terrorism and their perpetrators may surface with their ugly cruel faces.
The other important issue that prompts terrorism and rise of terrorists is the absence of social justice and conspicuous inequality among cross sections of people of the same society. If one or specifically the state apparatus would be callous about providing social justice equitably and in such cases some frustrated youths might tend to go for terror tactics for bare survival that though can not be condoned but need be seen with some sympathy or lenient view. The rent seeking business, say for example, we know of prevailing in Bangladesh from which even many stalwarts are scarcely immune, is no doubt one manifestation of terror tactics, yet condoned in many cases. Even well known ‘killers’ had been condoned in our recent political culture by topmost political leaders!
On top of all these, we know of some freedom fighters in many locations who have taken arms to free their own motherland having total conviction for the great cause of freedom but are being termed as ‘terrorists’ by those who would not agree with the intent and issue of freedom of such freedom fighters. Bangladesh had the same experience in 1971, the case of the Kashmiri freedom fighters are not different. In many advanced democratic countries as well like Britain, Spain, etc. to name a few we knew of freedom fighters like IRA, BASK, ETA etc. They are termed ‘terrorists’ by the establishment, but the fighters knew themselves well as ‘freedom fighters’.
On the Kashmir issue, the British Foreign Secretary Miliband, during his very recent visit in the region clearly stated that the issue of ‘terrorism’ in Kashmir should not be seen as a matter only of terrorism; the matter has to be seen differently and need be addressed towards political solution (Al-Jazeera TV quoted on the 15th January from The Guardian, London, Thursday, 15th January, 09). By the frank statement he made ( the foreign office stated as ‘open and honest’ on the 18th as PTI reported and NDTV24+7 immediately broadcasted) though was taken as unpalatable by Delhi (The New Age, Dhaka, 18 January, 09), the real truth lied in the fact that the British conscience ( as also in 1997 then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook as well wished to mediate the issue between India and Pakistan) can not escape the guilt of their making of the Kashmir issue pending between India and Pakistan for six decades now since the British left their regional empire here having had granting independence to India and Pakistan in mid August 1947. It was only due to Indian first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru’s unreasonable and intransigence till his death in 1964 that kept the issue pending at the UN for such an unusual long period, for its natural death. But unfortunately for the Indian Delhi rulers the Kashmir issue for freedom did not die but remained ever burning in the minds and psyche of the people that in some instances turned to terrorism, as well. It is thus only a matter of common sense that once the Kashmiri people are given their overdue freedom from Indian shackle, all forms of terrorism in the area would end right then. Milliband has realized the matter in its real perspective, apart from their need for freeing them as a nation from the guilty conscience he has talked openly for political solution of the Kashmir issue and not to see the problem around only as an issue of terrorists acts.
If we now come back to the Bangladesh’s P.M.’s proposal to form ‘Terrorist Task Force for South Asia’ and if India is included in the proposed subject forum, what position India would take in the matter of definition of the term ‘terrorists’, specifically in regard to the Kashmiri youths fighting for freedom of their birth place? If India is excluded in the proposed forum, could that be of anything worth? Or else, could Bangladesh toe the Indian line in Toto?
India has her own view of terrorism. According to Arundhati Roy (her speech made on the 20th August 2008 in Delhi and reported widely, her article on the issue published in The (London) Guardian etc.), the noted Indian writer and grade one intellectual have already openly asked Delhi to grant freedom to the people of Kashmir for they have the right to self determination that the UN long ago stated in clear terms. Thus some of them resorting to extremism at times due to extreme frustration generated over the decades and among the second generation should hardly be seen only as ‘terrorists’ acts. Would Bangladesh fully agree in the proposed forum or in the task force formation with India in the matter of Kashmir? Be that so, would that be not moral defeat of Bangladesh? What I mean to say is that before venturing to form the task force, Bangladesh has to be very clear and precise about the definition of the term ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’. Arundhati Roy has already clearly condemned the Indian government for banning the Muslim students organization, SIMI, labeling them as ‘terrorists’, but they have spared as yet the extremist Hindu terrorists, like Bajrang Dal, R.S.S. etc. How would Dhaka tune in such tricky cases with Delhi?
It is not only a problem that Bangladesh may have any unanimous agreement with India in regard to fully agreed definitions of the terms ‘terrorists’ and ‘terrorism’ but also quite likely with the West or USA, in particular. Their targets are the Muslim countries as have been Iraq, Afghanistan, likely Iran, and so on. Thus if the proposal originated in the USA that many may suspect as she made it public soon after she returned from there after a long stay of about five months there and having had many sessions with many high ups there, there is reason to take the matter with a pinch of salt.
Peace loving citizens and patriots might ask one another if the proposed task force would be another version of the most notorious Para-military force RAKHI BAHINI raised under the Indian General Uban (See, M.B.I.Munshi, India Doctrine (Second Edition, 2008) and being continuously increasing in strength parallel to the national army, in fact sidelined, and the Rakkhis equipped with Indian arms soon after Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 that made a hell of torture and extra-judicial killings. The Para-military force had not only been extra-constitutional but had dress color exactly the same of the Indian BSF (Border Security Force) indistinguishable from one another that in this soil the danger for national security was raised by the dare devil Maolana Bhashani alone in early 1972. The Rakhis had special indoctrination and motivation only to ‘Save the King’ that they went on doing by killing 11,000 of the JSD activists alone in addition to other patriotic political opposition activists of smaller underground parties and left factions of over 30,000 during 1972 to mid 1975. The killing in special police custody of the brilliant Engineer Seraj Sikder of the PURBO BANGLA SABAHARA PARTY did not end only in his extra-judicial killing, but unfortunately and shamelessly the people had to hear the then top leader roaring in the floor of the parliament boasting to intimidate all opposition elements of similar fate in his verbatim, ‘KOTHAE AZ SERAJ SIKDER’ or in English, ‘Where is Seraj Sikder today’! ‘Big Brotherly’ partnership involvement of India through her central intelligence R&AW operatives under which full protection the Bangladesh’s present Prime Minister had been groomed for about six years (1975 to 1981) in Delhi can not be of no concern about the proposed Task Force for South Asia for the patriotic and peace loving people of Bangladesh.

– Dr.M.T. Hussain